Photosynthesis

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• Setup
  • 1. Set the main board in the center of the table
    2. Give each player 1 player board, 1 light point tracker, 6 seeds, and 14 trees: 8 small, 4 medium, and 2 tall
    3. Separate the scoring tokens by their backs (shade of green and number of of leaves and set them next to the board in stacks ordered by points. If you are playing a 2 player game, do put the 3 darkest (4 leaf) scoring tokens back in the box. If players score the middle space on the board, they take from the 3 leaf stack instead.
    4. Place 4 seeds, 4 small trees, 3 medium trees, and 2 large trees on the corresponding spaces on each player board. Set the light point tracker to 0.
    5. Place the remaining 2 seeds, 4 small trees, and 1 medium tree next to the player boards. These are the players' available trees at the beginning of the game.
    6. The youngest player takes the First Player Token.
    7. In turn order each player places 1 of their available small trees on a space of the external edge of the main board (the 1 leaf zone). Do this twice.
    8. Place the sun segment on the sun symbol printed on the board. Set the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd revolution counters in a stack near the edge of the board in numerical order with 3 on the top. If you are playing the advanced version, use all 4 counters, with the 4 on the top.
• Playing a Round

  • Each time the sun is in one position, a round is played. Each round consists of 2 phases.

  • 1. The Photosynthesis Phase
    • • The player with the 1st Player Token moves the sun segment clockwise to the next angle on the board hex (Note: this step is skipped in the 1st round).
      • Players collect light points for each tree that is not in the shadow of another tree.
        • A small tree scores 1 point
        • A medium tree scores 2 points
        • A large tree scores 3 points
        • No points are scored for seedlings
      • A player cannot have more than 20 light points!

      Shadow sizes

      Trees cast shadows in the direction shown on the sun segment. A tree that is taller than a shadow-casting tree is not shadowed and receives full light points. Trees in the shadow cast their own shadow, and trees still cast shadows on their own variety. Shadows are cast as follows:

      • Small trees cast a 1 space shadow
      • Medium trees cast a 2 space shadow
      • Large trees cast a 3 space shadow
  • 2. The Life Cycle Phase

    • In turn order, each player can now spend their light points to take any number of actions (below). Any light points leftover can be saved for the next round. Each player performs all their actions before the next player takes their turn.

      IMPORTANT: During their turn, a player can only perform 1 action on the same space on the main board. For example, a player cannot grow a tree more than one "step" on a single turn.

      Note that any seeds/trees that are added/upgraded on the main board must come from the players' available pool, not from their player board

    • Buy Action

      • Players can purchase seeds or trees from their board and add them to their available pool. They must buy from the bottom of the board up (least expensive to most expensive).

    • Planting a Seed Action

      • Players can plant a seed near one or more of their trees, paying 1 light point per seed. Seeds can be planted in any direction, including non-linear directions, as long as the spaces connect.

        • 1 space from a small tree
        • Up to 2 spaces from a medium tree
        • Up to 3 spaces from a large tree

        Planting a seed activates both the origin tree's space and the space the seed was planted on. Therefore, during that turn, no other actions can be taken using those spaces.

    • Growing a Tree Action

      • A seed or tree can be replaced by a tree that is the next size up.

        • Seed -> small tree: costs 1 light point
        • Small tree -> medium tree: 2 light points
        • Medium tree -> large tree: 3 light points

        Players can only take trees from their available area to grow seeds/trees, not from their player boards

        Trees/seeds that are removed from the main board are put back on the player board in the topmost available spot. If no spots are available on the player board, the trees/seeds are removed from the game.

    • Collecting Action

      • Players can choose to collect scoring tokens by ending the life cycle of their large trees. Doing so costs 4 light points per large tree.

        • The large tree is removed from the main board and placed on the player board in the topmost available spot
        • The player collects the scoring token from the top of the matching pile of tokens (color/number of leaves). If there are no tokens left in that pile, the player takes the top token of the next lower pile.
        • If a tree is removed, other players can plant in that space during that round.
• Ending a Round

  • After everyone has had a turn, the 1st player token is passed clockwise to the next player. If the sun has completed one revolution, remove the top token from the sun revolution counter pile and put it in the box.

• End of the Game

  • The game ends when the sun has completed 3 revolutions (4 in the advanced variant). The full game is 18 rounds (24 in the advanced variant) with sun ending in the 6th position (the 1 before the sun symbol on the board).

    • Score scoring tokens
    • Score 1 point for every 3 unused light points

    If there is a tie, the player with the most seeds and trees on the main board wins.

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